ID if you use cash?

I haven't been back in the states for a while, and so am not up on the "way things are being done", but encountered a situation that seems odd.

I went into a chain electronics store in DFW area. In front of me in the checkout line was a man and his wife. They were buying a computer, prepaid cell phone and some other items. after the total was complete the cashier asked how will you be paying? The man pulled out his wallet and counted out cash. The cashier called the manager over who said that they are required to have 2 forms of ID for cash transactions for computers, prepaid phone and other transactions. The man was stunned as well as I. He asked who required this and was told "the US government". He then left without the items, and the manager said "great now I have to call the boss". This seemed to indicate that if you don't want to ID yourself then your going to have problems.

Has anyone else heard of this? Is this new, or something local to the store maybe? If this is normal I'm outta here.

[edit on 5/7/10 by barkingdogamato]

Mod's, oop's wrong area, please move to the general area.

Thank you.

Weird. You would think that a company wouldnt mind getting cash seeing how credit and debit cards can have a tendency to screw up every now and then. If you have the cash, you should be able to purchase.
I hope this doesnt start happening everywhere. I dont own a bank account and keep strictly cash.

I know at the store I work at we don't have to do that not even for prepaid cards just if you use a debit or credit card only. Not really sure about the case you witnessed though...


Posted Via ATS Mobile: m.abovetopsecret.com

I know at the store I work at we don't have to do that not even for prepaid cards just if you use a debit or credit card only. Not really sure about the case you witnessed though...


Posted Via ATS Mobile: m.abovetopsecret.com

What if you pay in silver or gold bullion??

This is scary .. they apparently want to tie you ID to your computer or phone in some sort of way.

I can see a cell phone being easy to track.. now a computer the only ID I can see in it is a network MAC address.. a simple swap of the wireless cards or a flash of the MAC address on some or even spoofing it..

Seems very fishy they wanted ID .. they can test the FRN money to see if its fake.. this is purely for tracking reasons .. Didn't wikileaks mention something abut massive spying coming forth shortly? This could be a bit of the tip of the iceberg.. All us ATSers know they spy on is , they even admitted it with there law saying that the ISP's cant be charged with any crimes or sued for spying.. and the Patriot act.. well that is just plain as day out there in your face blatant crap..

There are a lot of counterfeit bills out there. If someone pulled out a wad of hundred dollar bills to buy a computer, I'd be tempted to ask for ID, too!

reply to post by barkingdogamato


No, I've never heard of this before. I've paid cash for larger ticket items and have never had an issue from the same big box (blue box ???) electronics store.

I'm going to need to purchase a new laptop in the next month and I'm going to pay cash so I'll let you know how it goes.
FYI: If they want and ID, I won't show them one. They'll just lose a sale.

Also, I do know that you do need an ID to buy prepaid cell phones because they were used during 9/11 so the gubment wanted to add an additional security feature.
I also googled this and did not find anything about requiring ID to purchase a computer.

The guy did the right thing by walking out, I would have too.
That's really intrusive.

I am guessing that it is because of the price of a computer. If someone just stole a bunch of cash from someone, or counterfeited it or whatever, they don't want to keep it on hand, they want to use it... so if you have a big wad of cash and are using it on something valuable, I can see how they would want to make sure you're not some criminal.

If they were doing this for Snickers bars, I would be more worried.

Originally posted by spacekc929
I am guessing that it is because of the price of a computer. If someone just stole a bunch of cash from someone, or counterfeited it or whatever, they don't want to keep it on hand, they want to use it... so if you have a big wad of cash and are using it on something valuable, I can see how they would want to make sure you're not some criminal.

If they were doing this for Snickers bars, I would be more worried.

Unbelievable...Sigh! Its none of thier damn business where they got the money. Unless someone witnessed a crime the idea that you have to prove your not a criminal to use a large amount of cash is as unAmerican as it gets!!! And what's worse is that people think it is ok or somehow justified... *&^$#@!

reply to post by jfj123


Yep, the Big Blue Box.

Baffled me big time.

Thanks.

Like someone else noted, you do need some form of identification when purchasing prepaid cell phones.

That could have been the only reason for ID. Nothing to do with the PC, just the fact that it was part of the same purchase that required an ID. Like if he bought a computer, and a fifth of vodka (I wanna shop at that store), he'd need ID to complete the purchase, but it wouldn't be the cause of the PC, but the vodka.

He could have had rebates, or warranty information where ID, or the like was requested, but not required.

Other than the prepaid cell phone, theres no requirement for showing ID when purchasing computers, regardless of the price.

Unless its a store policy.

reply to post by ThaLoccster


I'm not sure what state you're in, but here in Colorado I sold pre-paid cell phones for 3 years and never once was ID required, regardless of the payment method. The only restriction when buying pre-paid phones is that no more than 2 a day can be purchased by one person.

For me it's not really unusual to have to show ID when purchasing a pre-paid mobile. In Australia we have to - and have had to for a couple of years - show ID when purchasing/activating a pre-paid sim card or mobile phone.

For a computer though, I don't see any reason why they would need ID for that. As somebody else said, it is just the MAC (Media Access Control) Address that identifies a computer. Changing the MAC Address is as simple as changing the network adaptor (as somebody already mentioned) or there are ways of spoofing your address.

My response every time someone says "It's against Federal/state law" is to politely ask for Title and Code. If they can't produce it, I call them a liar and leave. Yes, I have left quite a few stores over this.

My guess is it is against store policy because of some Federal crackdown on counterfeiting... in other words they are afraid if they accept phony money, they could get in a mess.

On every bill printed by the US Treasury there are these words:

This note is legal tender for all debts, public and private

meaning that no one in the US can refuse to accept cash for any purchase. If I want to pay for a new car in $1 bills, and the dealer refused to accept it, I actually have a legal case against them, in which I can own the new car without paying a dime. They refused to accept payment when offered, so I get the product for free.

Now, as with most legalities, there are restrictions. The money has to be handleable, no rubbing it in cow manure or anything like that; there are limits based on practicality (like trying to pay a few hundred dollars in pennies - forget that); and of course you will probably spend more on legal fees than it would cost for the product to begin with... but it is illegal to refuse cash in the United States.

I applaud the man for walking out. I would have done the same.

TheRedneck

I am disturbed on this one! Firstly if they think the cash is counterfeit or even if they don't they can test for that. I think if its a US Govt. regulation it is not because it was paid for with cash but because it is a cell phone and computer - both being communication devices - items that they can track to know what we are up to. Getting an ID along with the numbers and bar codes that come on the items making it much easier for Big Brother to keep an eye on us. OKay, just my 2 cents, nothing to back it up, just the way I believe they think.

reply to post by TheRedneck


Not sure about that, to be honest. There are a lot of businesses out there (Apple store?) that refuse cash transactions on security grounds and they seem to be within their legal right to do that?

I would've walked out, as well. I only show ID when asked for it when using a credit card (which, by the way, is illegal) but I do so anyhow.

This happened to me at Fry's when I tried to purchase a 4G memory stick for my camcorder with cash. I declined to show my ID, left the store and bought it at Wal*mart w/o incident.

I couldn't understand why they wanted ID for that purchase. I figured that they wanted my personal information so they could sell it to telemarketers and mailer lists.

Regarding prepaid cell phones/sim card, the same is the case here in the Cayman Islands, and has been the case since we've HAD cell phone service -- have to have an ID attached to the number. If, however, you're just buying a new cell phone for a post-paid system, then it's not a requirement.

Why? X person makes a threatening call to someone; Who called?

A person more technologically-challenged than myself made a call to our District Administration with a bomb threat -- this was a couple of years ago. They were caught within the hour. Legal conclusion: intoxication combined with adult adolescent behavio(u)r. Legal repercussion: a fine and 3 hots & a cot for two days.

What if they hadn't been caught? Would they have followed through? Don't know, but I don't think so in this case.

I think that's the basic reasoning, at least on this little rock.

I can buy a computer online without any problem. I think it was mostly the cell phone purchase in the OP that caused the problem. I think they would have found that a valid ID would have been required had they paid with a credit card as well.

Edit to fix runaway underlining

[edit on 5/7/10 by argentus]